A typical cellular radio system consists of a collection of fixed base stations (BS) that define the radio coverage areas or cells. Typically, a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) radio propagation path exists between a base station and a mobile station (MS) due to natural and man-made objects that are situated between the base station and the mobile station. As a consequence, the radio waves propagate via reflections, diffractions and scattering. However, even with non-line-of-sight propagation, there exist scenarios where the MS cannot receive the signal with enough viability to maintain connection to the BS. For example, when the MS is outside the coverage area of the BS or in a deadspot like the basement of a building. In such scenarios, relays are inserted to augment transmission capabilities of the transmitter, in order that the MS may receive the data meant for it.
Relay stations (hereinafter “RS”) are added to wireless communication networks to increase the coverage range, user data rates, or both, and typically are placed at the periphery of the cellular coverage area. A multi-hop network facilitates communication between a base station (hereinafter “BS”) and subscriber stations (also referred to as mobile stations) in the extended coverage area provided by a relay station. In a multi-hop network, a signal from a source may reach its destination in multiple hops through the use of the Relay stations. Relay stations typically boost the downlink (base station to the subscriber station) and uplink (subscriber station to the base station) signals regardless of whether the relay station is a fixed relay station (hereinafter “RS”) or a mobile relay station. Current relaying solutions fail to effectively increase system coverage while employing power saving mechanisms at the relay stations. Moreover, no procedures are currently available for effectively managing load conditions, such as the number of received and transmitted data and acknowledgment packets at the relay stations.